Grand Hyatt DFW REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
 

Spent two nights at this property. The lobby is Park Hyattish and the staff is very, very friendly and eager to please. The rooms are nice but not so very special. The shower stall, for example, was not very solidly built. They advertise "premium cable TV," but there was no HBO. Beware the hi-tech mini bar: Touch an item and you're charged for it! The health club is very nice and the rooftop pool deck is nice (if you don't mind the sound of planes taking off as you are sunning or swimming.) There is no coffee maker in the rooms: Guests are given coupons for the coffee bar on the restaurant level. It was frustrating having to dress to get coffee and then to wait while special lattes, etc., were being prepared. I only wanted my morning cup of java. I had to wait 10 minutes. The place where the hotel shines, to my mind, is the restaurant. It's the only restaurant in the place and it's a serious restaurant (with serious prices.) The service is very good. The fittings (plates, flatwear, etc) are very stylish. And -- by the way -- the food was imaginative and well prepared in an open kitchen. The restaurant is ambitious -- I hope not too ambitious for an airport property. I would gladly return.

If I'm staying more than one night and might want a fridge, I usually ask them to empty the mini-bar if it's one of the type that charges you if you look at it crosswise. Most good hotels will accomodate or put another fridge in the room (if the room is large enough).

If the DFW HR was, say, 30% less, which of these two hotels would you say offered better value for money?

I'm pretty sure I would stay at the GH even for 30% more. I'm sitting in my room there right now, and it's quite nice.

Not sure if things just weren't working right for the OP, but I do have HBO, as well as a lot of other channels you don't always see at other hotels (ESPN Classic, NFL Network, Golf Channel) - and lots I never watch (Court TV, Disney, QVC, Biography).

Oh yeah, the TV is a flat panel that swivels.

The health club is indeed very nice - with a lot of equipment.

The menu certainly looks good (and ambitious and expensive)... but room service is 15 minutes late right now.

[QUOTE=MJChicago] Not sure if things just weren't working right for the OP, but I do have HBO, as well as a lot of other channels you don't always see at other hotels (ESPN Classic, NFL Network, Golf Channel) - and lots I never watch (Court TV, Disney, QVC, Biography). QUOTE]


I (the OP) did find a number of those other channels, but not HBO. Nor did I find anywhere (on screen, in the compendium, etc) a list of channels. But the hotel has been open only three weeks, and I imagine that such matters will be addressed shortly.

Will be interesting to see how Hyatt will do the marketing and pricing of the properties.On a couple of random dates that I checked today both properties were not much apart, if at all.

I do not consider this to be smart, cause a brand new Grand should be vastly superior to an old, but renovated Regency which should reflect in a premium.

However wouldn`t the average traveler prefer to book the bigger Regency anyway, if it is much cheaper ?

Not an easy task, would also like to know, if they overbook both properties and move travelers over to the other Hyatt...

30% Worth It.....How About 80%?
 

Hmmm..... I'd love to try this property....but the dates I am staying the DFW is offering a rate of $94 while the Grand is $169...... I'm on my own for these stays, so how about a 80% premium...is the Grand worth it?

My last stay at the DFW was about 18 months ago, and my room clearly wasn't renovated. I heard the rooms have now been renovated and are quite nice and modern? Also, I'll be in for sub-10 hour layovers.....

And then there's the other key question, can someone check and see if the Grand has validated free self-parking like the HR?

Valet parking at the Grand was $16. I do not believe that they have free validated parking.

I believe that the Grand is not quite as grand as it fancies itself to be, if one can judge from the rates being asked.

I got a decent rate for my recent two night stay.

I will be returning to DFW in a couple of weeks but am not prepared to pay what is being demanded.

The obligatory sign on the room door stated that the maximum rate for my ordinary king bedded room (no suite, mind you) was $550/night. I know these maximum rates are often fanciful. But $550 is absurd.

In other words, I like the Grand but will not pay a stiff premium to stay there.

I liked the restaurant for breakfast. There were 8 seats at a "bar" with their own flat screen cable television sets. I sat there and watched CNBC while eating breakfast.

The coffee was a small pot of french pressed. They use Illy coffee, but not quite enough for my taste.....I'll ask for a strong pot next time.

I received a certificate for a free Continental Breakfast, as a Diamond. I asked for that, and the bill showed up for about $4 more, since they served the "Texas Continental Breakfast" in the restaurant. With tax and tip, it was about a $10 "free" breakfast as a Diamond. Evidently, the TX breakfast was supposed to include fruit which I did not receive. I did get, complements of the chef, a shot glass full of a strawberry smoothie. They were falling all over themselves with service.

I would pay a small difference once to check out the Grand and then would decide to stay at the cheaper one, probably always without a 2nd thought.

A $ 75 difference is way too much in my book though.

AFAIK both properties do not have a RC, which would be one way of differentiating the Grand.

As pointed out very interesting and difficult scenario for Hyatt at DFW....

[QUOTE=InHoc]

The coffee was a small pot of french pressed. They use Illy coffee, but not quite enough for my taste.....I'll ask for a strong pot next time. [QUOTE]


As I recall the price for that pot of french pressed coffee was a whopping $9! As I wrote in my original post, I liked the hotel. But as I have looked at the rates they are asking for future stays, I think I'll have to pass. It's nice. But it's not a Park Hyatt....

Thanks for the post. I booked this property for a one-night weekend stay in a few weeks for a rate of $79, which I thought was great. I"m looking forward to trying it out.

I'm flying UA....is there a reasonable connection to the airport terminal, or how much time should I allot to get there? I know this is right next to the field, but I'm wondering how it all connects.

It is within the new Terminal D. If you can print your UA boarding pass on your computer (perhaps the concierge will do so for you), you can take the elevator from your floor to the Terminal level. Walk 15 yards to the TSA security checkpoint in Terminal D and show your UA boarding pass for the same day. There are virtually no lines at the checkpoint now since Terminal D has very few flights (AA has not moved in yet.) Then walk from TSA for 3 minutes to the Skylink train. You should wait 1-2 minutes for a train and be at the UA terminal in another couple of minutes. Couldn't be easier.

I made a stop at DFW to have lunch with a associate. He lives in the area. He told me the Grand Hyatt was not originally intended to be a Grand but Hyatt was forced to upgrade the Hotel since some hotel which is just outside DFW had opened and it was pretty nice and stylish. The name escapes me but it is not a international brand. Maybe someone can chime in with the name of the hotel.

Gaylord Texan Resort?

My recollection is that it was going be a Grand Hyatt for a long time, certainly from when construction started.